In the wastewater pipeline industry, pipeline cleaning is typically performed by way of a Sewer Cleaning Vehicle (SCV) operating in communication with a Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) van. The CCTV van operator may remotely operate an inspection tractor upon which a camera is mounted. The operator may control the inspection tractor as well as the camera mounted thereon to obtain visibility inside pipelines that are otherwise inaccessible or unsafe for a person to enter. While the CCTV van is usually situated over an access point (e.g., a manhole, inlet, etc.), the SCV may be situated remote from the CCTV van, e.g., at a distance up to—or greater than—1,000 feet from the CCTV van.
The SCV is typically equipped with a high-pressure water hose fitted with fixed debris-cutting equipment or cleaning nozzles that perform the actual cleaning within the pipeline. The SCV operator usually runs the hose at a high pressure, e.g., 2,000 psi, to clean the pipe and cut away debris. However, the SCV operator must do this without any visibility inside the pipeline. Indeed, it is the CCTV operator's responsibility to try to determine and communicate appropriate feedback and commands (e.g., “faster,” “slower,” “come ahead two feet,” etc.) to the SCV operator by way of cellular phones, radios, hand signals, etc. Such systems are inefficient at best and completely ineffective at worst.
In these current systems, the SCV operator is operating blind in that he or she has no visibility of the pipeline in which he or she is operating the cleaning equipment. In addition to general ineffectiveness, these systems also subject the camera and inspection tractor to considerable and potentially significant risk. For example, if the SCV operator misunderstands a command from the CCTV van operator or makes even a small maladjustment, he or she can run the jet nozzle or cutting equipment right into the inspection tractor and/or camera. Such an incident can cause extensive damage to both pieces of equipment in addition to possibly damaging the pipe itself, which would likely be a very expensive mistake.
There remains a need for a way to address these and other problems associated with the prior art.